Hidden and mysterious is how some people like to keep their black metal. I love when a band can keep my mind wondering more about the group solely because there isn’t any information. Have you ever been told you can’t have something, and because that was said, you crave it? That’s pretty much how I feel about Bâ’a, a three person project from France. That’s basically all that we know. We don’t know where in France; we don’t know how long this band has been active; we don’t know the members or if they are affiliated with other projects. Bâ’a, at the moment at least, remains a mystery. And even if it’s driving me crazy not knowing, I enjoy the madness that it spawns

Deus Qui Non Mentitur, their first full length, comes in hot and blistering with an aura that I can’t place my finger on exactly. Between you and me, I wouldn’t have it any other way, to match the aesthetics. With the first and last track being an intro and an outro, you can tell right away that the album itself is going to be somewhat of an artistic production. Kinda like at the end of a play you sometimes will see a “fìn” sign, something within that nature. Throughout this album, you will be brought through twists and turns, seeing multiple faces of the mysterious Bâ’a. Sometimes it’ll be a full on assault with blast beats and tremolo picking, a passionate scream to lay on top of everything. Other times you’ll hear a passage of spoken words and connecting instrumentals to bridge one section to another. One thing that really stuck out for me in this album was the guitar writing. Dueling guitars can be heard running rampant for the majority of this album. Harmonizing and countering everything that the music brings, it makes for memorable licks and riffs. I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t find myself whistling a couple of these riffs randomly as I work, or when I’m doing a project around the house. So prepare yourself for something that has raw edge, but is also catchy. The vocals, as mentioned, are pure emotion and really convey how human this music really is. In his voice you can really feel the liberating tone. and how getting this off his chest, he feels better about his art. With a wide range of different vocal techniques, you will not be finding yourself getting bored of this release before the adventure ends. The bass grooves and drumming shouldn’t be forgotten as well, as they are the backbone of this driving force and the reassurance that this album will get its point across.

Deus Qui Non Mentitur, which was released on April 24th, 2020 by Osmose Productions, is the perfect black metal album you need to spice things up when Orthodox black metal just isn’t doing it for the moment. You know, when you need something different to keep it interesting, but still something that is unmistakably black. Kudos to the mysterious people behind this project. It was a true pleasure listening to this album. I enjoyed it a lot and I think you all will too.